The south of France always on the alert to the biggest fire in summer

“The objective is to be able to fix” the fire during the day. Nevertheless, Colonel Christophe Magny, local firefighters, head of operations, told AFP.

“It is a decisive day of rocking. Meanwhile, ” added Captain Jean-Marie Aversinq, communications officer for firefighters, “the next step will be the driver and the processing” of the 90 km of edges.

Leaving on Tuesday of a village located in the Corbières forest massif. However, the largest fire of summer in France ravaged 17,000 hectares of vegetation and pine forest. Nevertheless, It also destroyed or damaged 25 homes and burned 35 vehicles, according to the provisional assessment of the prefecture.

In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. In addition, a village most affected by the fire, a 65-year-old lady who had refused to leave her house was found dead at his home devastated by the flames. The prefecture also counted 13 injured: two hospitalized inhabitants. including a seriously burned, and eleven firefighters, according to the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau.

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday. the progress of fire has slowed heavily, after having had a look of “1,000 hectares at the hour overall”, in the first moments of the loss, according to Rémi Recio, local representative of the State.

“Losing know a fort” – South france always alert biggest

The weather conditions “are rather favorable”, the firefighters said to AFP on Thursday morning.

The tramontane. a dry and warm wind that strengthens fire, has been supplanted by a south france always alert biggest sea wind which “will bring more humid air than before, which is less favorable to the propagation of fire”, told AFP François Gourand, forecaster in Météo-France.

But the municipalities are nonetheless raised a return of the flames with the change of direction of the wind. “We stay on the alert, because we are surrounded by pines and then that everything has burned, (…) It is a disaster,” said Bruno Zubieta, local elected official.

Wind gusts up to “40 km/h are expected” in the morning, specify the firefighters. “Our strategy is to hit quickly and strong before this wind gets up.”

The wind that pushed the flames to the Mediterranean coastline turned on Wednesday afternoon. redirecting the danger to the Corbières massif and fifteen communes already affected by the disaster.

“The back of the fire has become the front of the fire,” said Colonel Magny. And the front always uncontrollable returns to “its starting point”. “fairly inaccessible wooded areas”, added Lucie Roesch, local representative of the state.

The wind and “the temperatures of 32 ° C”, expected in the afternoon, “lead us to remain cautious,” commented Colonel Magny.

The air resources will be mobilized “all day”, to treat the fire still active in various sectors, the firefighters said.

Another 2,000 firefighters and 600 devices are mobilized to protect the “3,000 buildings that are in this fire area,” said Colonel.

Military control strategy

“We are in a military struggle south france always alert biggest strategy. at all times, the enemy must be shot dead as soon as he takes out his head,” Radio Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for French firefighters.

This is the biggest fire in summer in France. unprecedented for at least 50 years in the French Mediterranean, according to a government database listing forest fires since 1973.

An investigation was opened to determine the causes of fire, still unknown. No hypothesis is currently privileged, even if the Prime Minister has mentioned a start of fire by the road.

François Bayrou described the fire as a “unprecedented catastrophe” by believing that the episode was linked to “global warming”. “drought”.

“Europe is held alongside France while the worst forest fires in its recent history are raging. ” said the president of the European Commission.

At the end of July. in the middle of the summer season, civil security had south france always alert biggest recorded more than 15,000 hectares burned on the national territory for 9,000 fire departures, mainly on the Mediterranean coast.

Experts believe that climate change caused by humans increases the intensity. duration and frequency of extreme heat that feeds forest fires.